Steak tartare
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009) |
 Steak tartare with egg, capers and onions |
|
| Dish details | |
|---|---|
| Main ingredient(s) | raw beef or horse meat |
Steak tartare is a meat dish made from finely chopped or ground raw beef[1] or horse meat. Tartare can also be made by thinly slicing a high grade of meat such as strip steak, marinating it in wine or other spirits and spicing it to taste, and then chilling it. It is often served with onions, capers and seasonings (the latter typically incorporating fresh ground pepper and Worcestershire sauce or Tartare sauce), and sometimes with a raw egg, and usually served on rye bread. The word is derived from the name Tartars or Tatars, an ethnic people from Eastern Europe and part of Asia.
Contents |
[edit] History
The basis of the name is the legend that nomadic Tatar people of the Central Asian steppes did not have time to cook and thus placed meat underneath their horses' saddles. The meat would be tenderised by the end of the journey.
[edit] Health concerns
Health concerns have reduced the popularity of this meat dish because of the danger of contamination by bacteria and parasites.
[edit] Regional variations
Steak tartare is now regarded as a gourmet dish. It is especially popular in Belgium, the Netherlands, Northern Germany, France, Poland, Hungary, Switzerland and Czech Republic where is called Tatarák or Tatarský biftek. In Belgium and the Flanders region of France, another version is known as filet américain (translated as American Fillet). It is eaten as a main course, typically accompanied with toast or french fries. The preparation of the meat is either done by the waiter, table-side, or by the customers themselves. A fresh green salad may also be served in the summer months to add a further freshness to the dish.
In the American midwest (such as in Urbandale, Iowa and Wisconsin), steak tartare is known and served as "Raw Dog" or "Wild Cats", and is most often served as a winter holiday appetizer.[citation needed]
Filet américain is also sold by butchers as a sandwich dressing; it comes either unprepared (raw ground lean beef) or prepared (with eggs, seasonings, etc.). The latter is also popular in Belgium and the Netherlands.
A variant of steak tartare (called tartarmad) is also present in Smørrebrød where it is served on rugbrød with assorted toppings. In Germany there is a very popular variant using raw minced pork called Mett or Hackepeter, which is typically served on rye bread or rolls, with the onions and pepper, but without capers or egg.
The Mexican version of steak tartare typically marinates the meat in lime juice, while the standard version is marinated in wine.
[edit] Islamic and Jewish dietary laws
Some scholars of Islamic dietary laws and Jewish kashrut argue that raw meat is haraam (forbidden) or treif (Yiddish: טרײף or treyf, derived from Hebrew: טְרֵפָה trēfáh) (unfit), respectively; however, consensus holds that raw meat is not haraam or treif if properly drained of blood.[citation needed]
Raw-meat dishes are popular across the Muslim world; for instance, kibbeh nayyeh (كبة نية, kibbah nayyah) which incorporates raw lamb or beef with Bulgur wheat, olive oil and spices, known as çiğ köfte (raw meat ball) in Turkey, is often considered to be the national dish of Lebanon and is also popular in Syria.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Waxman, Jonathan; Steele, Tom; Flay, Bobby; Kernick, John (2007). A Great American Cook: Recipes from the Home Kitchen of One of Our Most Influential Chefs. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 0618658521.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on |
